1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to book production, and more particularly to a method and system for efficient production of book orders of any quantity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of books in small quantities is an expensive process, involving manual operations. Generally, for a particular order the system is shut down and the binding equipment is adjusted for the particular order. Due to the set-up costs for each order, there is an emphasis on large quantity orders, making the production of only a few books impractical. U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,165 by Abrams et al. describes a means for adjusting a binding system to accommodate a variable book thickness. U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,358B1 describes use of separate sheets with information identifying a book cover and a book stack, and a system that reads the information and stops binding operation if the cover identification does not correspond to the stack information.